Millions of Russians Take the Plunge - Ice Jumping "Epiphany" Tradition Still Incredibly Popular!
Following the old Russian tradition, on the night of January 18-19 millions of believers took a dip in fonts on the big Orthodox holiday of Epiphany. The most daring and hardy ones plunge in an ice hole where the temperature is about 4 degrees.
If lower, fresh water turns into a colloidal suspension and tends to freeze. If the temperature is above 4, for example, in a warm stream, there's a scour in the ice. So, the temperature in an ice hole is under 4 degrees. It's for those who want to try it.
Dmitry Kaistro is reporting on how the Epiphany was celebrated.
The President arrived at a very important hour on the Stolobny Island at the heart of Lake Seliger. Liturgical books call the hour "great", people call it "royal", but are declared by the Church only three times a year. The "royal" hour was introduced in the 4th century by the saints of the East. At this time, the grace is special.
Vladimir Putin prayed with monks and pilgrims of the monastery. The president downed before the relics of St Nilus Stolobensky whose followers founded an abode on the island. The monks cut a special ice hole in solid ice near its walls. Putin went down to the wooden flooring in a white sheepskin coat and white felt boots, Such clothes will reliably keep the heat.
The custom of Epiphany bathing is not a canon, but a pious tradition. Immersion as a harmony of spirit and flesh, a personal ascesis. It was only 3 degrees above zero in Seliger. It's not the first time that the president has plunged into ice cold water.
The Epiphany world is great. These days, all the water in it is holy.
In Dagestan, the Orthodox dipped right into the stormy Caspian Sea.
Baikal is calm and frosty, bathers can be seen from afar. The vapor of the breath covers the body with a cloud.
Rivers and lakes, bays and seas are now a single font embracing Magadan, Vladivostok, Kamchatka. It's -30.
It is warmer in Sevastopol, but it's hard to dip in the Cossack Bay in winter. It's for the courageous.
Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg. Murmansk, Semenovskoe Lake already beyond the Arctic Circle. Whole families plunged here. In Karachay-Cherkessia too.
Bonfires and fireworks.
It's the festive blessing of water in Russian churches, temples, monasteries.
Patriarch Kirill did it in Elokhovsky Cathedral, Moscow. The all-night vigil begins on the eve to last till the morning.
In ancient times Epiphany was celebrated on the same day as Christmas. And the holiday was called Theophany, the Manifestation of God. The canon divided the events, but not the spiritual essence. God came into the world to stay with human.
Dmitry Kaistro, Olga Meshcheryakova for Vesti — News of the Week.